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Pearls. 




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Copyright 1899 
By Vane Simmonds 



SECOND COPY, 
\> OFF'GEOF THE ^ 

79739 OEC 8 1889 



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49537 




The Author. 



FRESH WATER 
PEARLS 



By Vane Simmonds 

The simple expression, " gathering pearls," 
has a fascination for the uninitiated, and creates 
a lively interest in the minds of many who still 
cling to the romantic side of life ; but let them 
gaze into a plush-lined jewel case containing 
hundreds of glistening fresh-water gems, and I 
doubt not their lively interest would develop into 
a case of " pearl fever." 

Where are pearls found? What Specie of 
shells bear pearls ? In what part of the shell are 



<* & FRESH WATER PEARLS <* <* 

they found? Which is the most valuable color? 
What are they worth ? Who buys them ? 

These questions and many more are asked 
daily by those seeking information. 

That much desired information regarding 
both marine and fresh-water pearls is meagre. 
Science does not handle the subject very clearly 
as to their origin; hence our highest authority 
must be termed short-sighted upon this chapter 
of Nature's handiwork. 

Meanwhile the pearl — the only precious gem 
which is not fashioned by the hand of man — 
passes through its various stages of growth 
toward perfection, hanging suspended from the 
glittering walls of its beautiful prison until re- 
leased by some lucky pearl-hunter. 



J* ■* FRESH WATER PEARLS jft .* 

The clam migrates as regularly as the seasons 
change. In shallow water during the summer 
months; then seeking a depth of from five to ten 
feet as the cold weather advances. Here it lies 
partly dormant until the following spring, when 
growth and activity are again resumed. Nearly 
every stream and lake east of the Missouri River 
contains, to a greater or less extent, pearl-bearing 
mussels. Many of these tributaries are lined 
with lime-stone ledges (claimed to be a pearl 
producing quality). Many of those that are not 
navigable have mill-dams crossing them at 
intervals of every ten or twelve miles. In 
the mud and sediment of the " backwater " 
the "rough-shelled" Unios (the richest pearl- 
bearer) accumulate by the thousands. It is 



^* ^ FRESH WATER PEARLS j* ^ 

here the fisher wades or rakes the mussels from 
the soft mud. 

It is interesting to know that the aborigines 
of this country appreciated the beauty of pearls 
quite as much as do the most cultivated Ameri- 
cans of to-day. W. E. Myer, of Carthage, Tenn., 
opened an Indian burial place and found a "gor- 
get " or necklace of scallops strung with pearls. 
The latter were of remarkable size, but long 
burial and contact with the earth had rendered 
them chalky and valueless. Professor Warren K. 
Moorehead of the Ohio State University and 
Professor G. W. Putnam of Harvard University 
opened a sacrificial mound near the great Serpent 
Mound in Ohio and took from it two bushels of 
pearls. All were ruined and bore evidence of 



Specimens of Fresh Water Pearl-Bearing 
Unios. 



j* <* FRESH WATER PEARLS * * 

having been subjected to a hot fire at the time 
they were offered in sacrifice — probably to stay 
the ravages of a plague or the invasion of an 
enemy. 

At Paterson, N. J., in 1857, were discovered 
the first fresh-water pearls brought to public at- 
tention in America. In 1878 settlers along the 
Little Miami River, in Ohio, found a few good 
specimens in the mussel shells of that stream. 
Not until 1883, when pearls were found in as- 
tonishing numbers in shells taken from the Cum- 
berland River, in Tennessee, did the industry 
of fresh-water pearl fishing have a beginning. 
From the year of its discovery to the present the 
Cumberland has yielded an annual pearl crop 
worth $150,000. No finer white pearls are found 



& & FRESH WATER PEARLS •* ^ 

anywhere than those taken from the Tennessee 
streams. The greatest find in the fresh-water 
field is that of White River, Ark., discovered in 
1879. The year following the opening of these 
fisheries they yielded at the lowest calculation 
$400,000 worth of exquisitely colored pearls which 
were brought to New York and sold to various 
houses, but mostly to Herman Myer, the Maiden 
Lane pearl expert. When American pearls were 
discovered London dealers, thinking they would 
flood the market, as an excuse to gain time to 
dispose of Orientals, said that American pearls 
would lose color and lustre. Because of this re- 
port still obtaining credence among wearers, 
American pearls do not bring one-half the price 
of Orientals of the same quality, shape and size. 



j» <* FRESH WATER PEARLS > ^ 

Four Wisconsin pearl-hunters fished the Cedar 
River for many miles a few years ago. The writer 
visited their camp, located a mile above Charles 
City, la. Here was displayed all the abandon of 
a happy-go-lucky crowd. Having made the 
shaded banks of the stream their home for many 
weeks, this mode of life gave to them a shiftless, 
easy-going style, so readily adopted by those fol- 
lowing this line of work. 

Each member of their party was furnished 
with a boat, rubber wading-pants, a long-handled 
basket rake and an ordinary case knife. Stepping 
into the stream where the shells were thick, it 
took but a short while to load a boat with them. 

Drawing the batch beneath the first friendly 
shade, the process of opening was in order. For 



.* * FRESH WATER PEARLS ■* * 

this purpose a common table knife was used. 
Running the thin blade entirely through the clam 
(following the hinge) severs both muscles and the 
valves easily part. The thin mantle of flesh 
lining both walls are hastily felt over with the 
thumbs, for one can feel what the eye cannot de- 
tect — although this process is quite unnecessary 
when the pearl is of good size, for the flesh-cov- 
ering is so slight it is readily noticeable. 

(Note. — Scientific authorities claim that all 
pearls originate from an irritation caused by for- 
eign substances, that is, a small particle of sand 
or wood, or even an abortive egg. As to how 
this mantle takes up or envelopes these particles 
with flesh, and forms a spherical gem, is left to 
the imagination of common mortals). 

12 



j» ■* FRESH WATER PEARLS * * 

Having the power of secretion, this mantle 
throws over these irritating particles a nacer- 
ous covering which is the fundamental growth 
of pearl and shell. 

As to the industry of fresh-water pearl fishing, 
it is certainly in a most undeveloped stage. 
About $500,000 worth of pearls are annually 
taken from the streams of this country, and this 
is only a fraction of what the pearl crop might be 
made to be every year, for where there are clam 
or mussel shells there are pearls. To make this 
statement is easy, but to convince people living 
along a stream not known to have produced 
pearls is a difficult matter. A river, like a 
prophet, has generally little honor in its own 
country. "What ! pearls in our own home river?" 



<* * FRESH WATER PEARLS + & 

is the question asked on a new stream when it is 
endeavored to set the industry in motion. Then 
the incredulous often add: "Well, it'll be time 
enough to believe that when I can dig gold out 
of the garden." 

The opinion seems to prevail that the value 
of a pearl depends on its size. This is not at all 
true. It depends mainly on the color and lustre, 
and next, on its shape. Another popular error is 
that a pearl having an irregular, warty or pitted 
surface may be cut or ground to a desired shape 
and a smooth surface. This is not the case, as 
the touch of the instrument completely destroys 
the lustre. 

The most expert and conservative dealers in 
pearls are now ready to admit that the silvery globe 



A Pearl Hunter's Kit. 







- 



j» & FRESH WATER PEARLS ■* * 

taken from the American clam is superior to the 
Oriental article. 

The former has the brilliant lustre of a drop 
of mercury, while the latter is more like a globule 
of cream. 

To be successful in the pursuit of pearls, one 
must bear with patience the possible disappoint- 
ments which are liable to occur on the first trial 
or two. Gold in the Klondike is not found with- 
out one hundred-fold the trials that even a novice 
at pearl fishing will incur. 

The pearl, which your mind's eye has fash- 
ioned, while gathering the bivalves, may be in the 
first or last shell of your boatload. Always thinking 
the "next one" will be a $500 beauty, however, 
holds one fascinated until the last shell is opened. 



•* ^ FRESH WATER PEARLS * * 

Ask a pearl-hunter any fair question and if he 
is not "soured" by ill-luck, he usually has a will- 
ing and ready answer; ask him " what luck" he 
is having, ten to one he is "mum." Possibly the 
above-mentioned hunters took pity on me and 
my burning curiosity, for, just before leaving 
them, they displayed (and with just pride) a pearl 
the size of a bullet, of remarkable sheen and as 
green as grass. It weighed fourteen grains, and 
afterwards sold for $400. 

A few years later, when the writer had hunted 
to some extent, no blame was ever attached to a 
non-committal reply from a pearl-hunter, when 
asked his luck. 

The Cedar River, Iowa (or rather that section 
of it flowing through Floyd and Chickasaw Coun- 



^* j» FRESH WATER PEARLS J* J* 

ties), has yielded about three hundred pearls, vary- 
ing from one-eighth to one-half inch in diameter, 
or from two to eighteen grains in weight. One 
collector in particular has sixty pearls that weigh 
211%. grains — the two largest (button shape) 
weighing 24*4 grains. They are of a ruby wine 
color and of matchless lustre. 

Not long ago the writer found the largest 
pearl known to have been taken from the Upper 
Cedar River, Iowa. It was of the size of a hazel- 
nut, spherical in shape, and weighed 18^ grains. 

Pink, wine, violet, green and blue, with all the 
intermediate shades, are found in river gems. 

The finest and, indeed, costliest pearls in the 
world are taken from a stream in Wisconsin. 
Pearls of a beautiful metallic green and possess- 

19 



& & FRESH WATER PEARLS j* * 

ing a superb lustre are peculiar to this little 
stream. Generally speaking, these pearls are 
worth about twice as much as first-class white 
specimens. Nothing found in the Orient ap- 
proaches in beauty the superb green pearls of 
Wisconsin. 

A perfect pearl should be of good color, fine 
lustre and shape (either ball, button or pear) to 
be marketable. 

The transparent film that lies along the hinge 
contains only "spatter," "floater," or hinge 
"slugs"; often of nice color, but of little com- 
mercial account. 

Pearls that become detached from the flesh 
are either lost out or fastened to the shell with a 
thin coating. In two or three years the contin- 

20 



A Pearl Fisher at Work. 



.* * FRESH WATER PEARLS * * 

ued pressure from the inside forces the pearl 
nearly through, when the action of mud and 
water soon starts it to decay. 

The up-to-date operator confines himself to 
more business-like methods than when the indus- 
try was young. 

Carrying a camping outfit, good tent, etc., 
living in a true sportsmanlike style while at 
work, this form of work usually pays more than 
any other form of common labor, and when cou- 
pled with hunting and fishing, is a pleasant devi- 
ation from the regular outing with many camp- 
ers ; and although one may not be "on his luck," 
still he experiences that feeling of anticipation 
which always accompanies the undertaking. 

No work on pearls would be complete without 

23 



^ j* FRESH WATER PEARLS * & 

mention of Herman Myer, the Promoter of the 
Interior Pearl Fisheries of America; more gener- 
ally known as the Pearl King, with headquarters 
at 41 and 43 Maiden Lane, New York City. 

He has done more to advance the cause of 
American Pearl Fisheries than all other men 
combined. 

Mr. Myer is a graduate of Harvard College, 
and a man thoroughly in love with his work, and 
he gives all his time and talent, money and brains 
to the work he so loves. 

Many thousand pearl fishermen owe their 
well-lined pockets to the work of Mr. Myer in 
calling their attention to the search for pearls 
and persuading them to give it a trial. Some- 
times it has been no easy task for him to intro- 

24 



j» * FRESH WATER PEARLS ^ j* 

duce the work on a river where the presence of 
pearls has not previously been noted. Once 
begun, its own fascination and the large reward 
it gives, soon renders the work popular. 

It is a rare treat to visit Mr. Myer's headquar- 
ters at 41 and 43 Maiden Lane, New York City, 
and see the choice pearls and exquisite pearl-work 
he has to exhibit in such vast numbers to his 
friends. It is related of him, that one day a 
reporter who was interviewing him, asked the 
question, " How many pearls have you ? " To 
this question Mr. Myer gave no reply in words, 
but in his characteristic manner replied by deeds ; 
and sending out for a gallon measure, poured box 
after box into it until it had been filled four times. 
He then showed, in addition to these four gallons, 



j* & FRESH WATER PEARLS * & 

several of his rarest pearls separately. This is 
said to be the largest amount of pearls ever gath- 
ered together, and his collection is more remark- 
able for beauty than for size. Indeed, almost all 
the rare, unique and fine pearls found for years 
make their way to this collection. It is a saying 
of Mr. Myer's, that " I would like an opportunity 
to bid on every pearl found on Earth — many of 
them are not shown to me at first, and while I 
should prefer to pay the full value to the original 
owner, still, I am sure that nine out of ten Amer- 
ican pearls will get to me sooner or later — I 
always pay one price for them — and that the full 
value." 

His magnificent pearl, nearly one inch in 
diameter and perfect in all respects, is known as 

26 



* & FRESH WATER PEARLS * * 

Myer's Beauty, It is said to be the largest abso- 
lutely perfect pearl in the world. Another of his 
treasures is an old necklace, consisting of over 
twenty thousand pearls, said to have been made 
for one of Napoleon's household ; came into 
American hands after the shakeup at Water- 
loo, finally reaching Mr. Myer. The art and 
history of this magnificent necklace add to the 
attraction of its great beauty and value. Mr. 
Myer is proverbial for his courtesy and aid to 
beginners in pearl fishing and it would be well 
to write him, for you are sure of a prompt, cour- 
teous reply and all information it is in his power 
to give. 



27 



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